Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Former Brookings Expert

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was a senior fellow with the Global Economy and Development program from 2006 to August 2011, when she was sworn in as the finance minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. While at Brookings, Okonjo-Iweala's research focused on international development and finance, economic reform and transparency issues—particularly in Africa.

In their recent book, “The New Localism,” Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak argue that cities and counties will be tested as never before in the coming years. They will need to innovate and reform—to pursue new strategies for growth and finance—in a fiscal environment dominated by rising health-care and pension costs. In these circumstances, the quality of metropolitan governance will matter more than ever.

"There are concerns that placing the [Israeli] embassy in Jerusalem would be a sign that the United States recognizes it as a part of Israel's sovereign territory, even though the position of the U.S. over the last 70 years or so is that Jerusalem is actually disputed territory, and that the status of it will have to be resolved through negotiations."